My Mama’s Favorite Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

Today would have been my Mama’s 73rd birthday and, like we did every year on her birthday (and every year since she moved to Heaven) we’ll be having her very favorite dinner… a Hot Roast Beef Sandwich.

This was also our traditional meal at the Newberry’s lunch counter in Downtown Portland every Christmas season, when we made our annual trek to the “big city” to see the window displays, ride the Christmas monorail, and get my picture taken with Santa.

Every bite of the delicious comfort food dinner brings a wave of happy childhood memories.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the carrots, celery, mushrooms, and onion in the bottom of a roasting pan, and add wine and just enough water to just cover the vegetables.

Poke 8 holes in the sides and top of your roast and inster the the garlic pieces. Rub the whole roast with oil and sprinnkle generously on all sides with steak seasoning.

Over medium-high heat, heat a dry skilliet for 5-8 minutes and sear all sides of the roast until well browned.

Place the roast on top of the veggies (do not wash the skillet – we’ll use it again), cover the pan with foil, and roast until the meat reaches 130F (about 2 hours). Move the roast to a cutting board and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then move to the fridge to chill for 2 hours.

The Gravy

Strain the roasting-pan juices; discard the vegetables (do not wipe out the pan!) Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux, and whisk until the roux is a golden brown, and smells nutty. Slowly whisk the roasting pan juices and the browning liquid, and simmer until thickened, whisking constantly.

Slice the roast beef as thin as possible, and add the slices to the hot gravy. Set a slice of bread on each plate, and heap with beef gravy mixture.

Top the beef with another slice and bread, add potatoes to the plate, and ladle the remaining gravy on top.

Happy birthday, Mama!

~Chef Perry

We are entering the age of the “Home Chef”, a title that’s available to nearly everyone, regardless of age, or financial standing.

That’s what this book is about…because something amazing has begun to happen in the last two decades, something that has never before happened in the history of cooking…instead of growing wider, the gap between the home cook and the professional chef has actually begun to narrow, and continues to narrow exponentially with each passing year.

The time when these specialized skills were limited to those who could afford the cost and time required for culinary school are quickly passing into history.

The time when the sole requirement to elevate your cooking skills to this level…passion…is emerging.

It’s an amazing time to become a Home Chef…and if you have that passion, I’ll show you how.